Sunday, 24 June 2007

Bored on conference calls? Relief!

Lest we drop a key thread in this blog (by virtue of my "other passions"), here's a bit of collaborative advice that I published a while back in Line56, which apparently is being rehabbed at the moment. If you've been on a conference call that caused more yawns than yabbers (possibly you're on one as you're reading this), read on...

Teleconference Boredom? Five Steps to Relief

Don't drag the central location conference speaker across the table. It's painful for those dialing in.[1]

The reminder above to avoid hideous noises while on a teleconference call, though primitive, rings true.

Witness yesterday: “First let me promise you there will be no trains coming through on this call.” Dave
Rimmer, a Shell U.K. Exploration and Production Information Manager, was recalling a previous teleconference with us in Aberdeen, Scotland, and him in Lowestoft, England.

When Dave’s on a teleconference and a train goes by, as it does every half hour or so in the U.K.’s most easterly town, it sounds like the engine is full throttling out-of-control down the phone line, rather frightening if you’re unprepared. Much like the screech of the dragging phone, it does damage to our overly-exercised eardrums.

Getting the sound at the right db level is only a pre-requisite for
a virtual meeting, not a promise. While effective virtual meetings
are gratefully acknowledged and result in better communication, the
more frequent bad ones add to the organizational grumble and contribute
to distraction. Even face-to-face meetings are unpleasant enough; now
we have to suffer through even worse virtual ones?

What to do, oh, Virtual Beatrice? (I once wrote an advice column.)

Agree to the few following big basic rules — and follow them. They are essentially common sense. Until
good virtual meetings are as second-nature as good phone calls, never deviate from the basics.

Hold all meetings in a virtual team room where only best practices
prevail — even if you’re meeting face-to-face. Yes, hold all
real-time meetings from within your team’s virtual room. What is a
“best-practices” virtual team room? Key successful methods for virtual
work inform the room’s design. Follow the “instructions” by populating
the room’s walls, and your team is on its way to effective virtual
meetings.

With all of that available, now have your virtual meeting using a teleconference with real-time web conferencing and:

Follow a realistic, timed-out agenda that you follow

Get everyone’s “voice in the room” at the start with a check-in question — fun is better, but go
serious if necessary for the party-poopers

Have one person facilitate while someone else takes notes

Skip the status reports (post them ahead to the team room where
people can read and prep for the meeting; use the real-time for the hot
stuff--decisions, disagreements, and other dastardly things

Close the call with a “self-propelling ending” (so-named by Shell
Information Consultant Fiona Windle). Hear everyone’s voices again to
address what was learned that you can apply immediately.

It’s work, yes, to do all of this, but so is the alternative with
poor communication and grumpy team members. With the approach above,
meetings do get better. You can “hear” smiling faces. And, it’s
highly unlikely that anyone will allow a train to run through your
meeting while dragging the phone across the table.

About the author:

Jessica
Lipnack is CEO of NetAge, Inc., a consultancy focused on global
collaboration strategies, methods, and technology She is co-author,
with Jeffrey Stamps, of six books, including Virtual Teams (John Wiley
& Sons).

[1] “Do you know the rules and manners of an effective virtual meeting?” by Loretta W. Prencipe, InfoWorld
[1],

TrackBack

Comments

Bored on conference calls? Relief!

Lest we drop a key thread in this blog (by virtue of my "other passions"), here's a bit of collaborative advice that I published a while back in Line56, which apparently is being rehabbed at the moment. If you've been on a conference call that caused more yawns than yabbers (possibly you're on one as you're reading this), read on...

Teleconference Boredom? Five Steps to Relief

Don't drag the central location conference speaker across the table. It's painful for those dialing in.[1]

The reminder above to avoid hideous noises while on a teleconference call, though primitive, rings true.

Witness yesterday: “First let me promise you there will be no trains coming through on this call.” Dave
Rimmer, a Shell U.K. Exploration and Production Information Manager, was recalling a previous teleconference with us in Aberdeen, Scotland, and him in Lowestoft, England.

When Dave’s on a teleconference and a train goes by, as it does every half hour or so in the U.K.’s most easterly town, it sounds like the engine is full throttling out-of-control down the phone line, rather frightening if you’re unprepared. Much like the screech of the dragging phone, it does damage to our overly-exercised eardrums.